What the U.S. Can Learn from China An Open-Minded Guide to Treating Our Greatest Competitor as Our Greatest Teacher

by LEE, ANN

• ISBN13: 9781609941246
• ISBN10: 1609941241
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-01-09
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Summary

China succeeded Japan as the world's second largest economy in 2010--many predict it will grow to be larger than the United States by 2020. Three decades ago, China was a rural economy with barely any exports. The rise of China presents the United States with a "Sputnik Moment," in the words of President Obama. Will we rise to the challenge as we did during the space race, or will we rationalize and scapegoat our way to explaining why we can't compete? Ann Lee provides an unvarnished assessment of China's political economy and governance structure, analyzing the sources of China's success and identifying lessons that can be applied by other governments regardless of ideology. As a Chinese-American who emigrated to the U.S. from Hong Kong at the age of seven, Lee is uniquely situated to help Americans understand how China sees its own society and how to adapt some Chinese practices to benefit the U. S. For example, the Chinese economy is designed to make the kind of unproductive and unrestrained financial speculation that has devastated much of the West impossible. Aspiring Chinese politicians have to pass tests to prove their competency to govern. The Chinese homicide rate is a fifth of what it is in the U.S. While not blind to China's shortcomings, Lee argues that rather than demonizing China, a more productive use of time and resources is to learn from this rising power in order to maximize the talent of millions of people.

Author Biography

Ann Lee is a professor of finance and economics at New York University and a senior fellow with the public policy think tank Demos. Fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese, she was a visiting graduate economics professor at Peking University in 2008. She has also been an investment banker at Bankers Trust and Alex. Brown & Sons and a partner at two multibillion-dollar hedge fund firms. Her work has appeared in publications such as the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Forbes, and Businessweek, and she regularly guests on CNBC, Fox Business, Bloomberg, CNN, NPR, and many other television and radio stations.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xiii
Introduction: A New Year's Resolution	p. 1
The China Miracle	p. 9
Confucian Philosophy	p. 25
Meritocracy	p. 54
Five-Year Plans	p. 93
Special Economic Zones	p. 122
Real Economy First	p. 140
Soft Power	p. 173
Cocreating a Better World	p. 200
Epilogue: What China Can Learn from America	p. 228
Notes	p. 235
Bibliography	p. 253
Acknowledgments	p. 257
Index	p. 259
About the Author	p. 267
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